There are generally three main routes to go solar in Canada; these options are summarized below;

• Purchase: Outright ownership of the system from the initial installation. This requires greater initial capital investment and the owner assumes the ongoing operating and maintenance costs.
• Lease to own: Allows the home owner to eventually own the system by paying it off over a set period. Typically solar companies allow consumers to buy-out the rest of the cost of the system at any time.
• Power purchase agreement: Provides a green power option for the consumer to purchase electricity from the solar system. Typically offered by electrical solar contractors and / or your electrical utility company.

Which option you choose will depend on a number of factors, some are listed below. These certainly are not the only factors when choosing solar power, but they are the main ones:

• How much you can initially afford to spend on your system.
• How much ongoing operation and maintenance work/risk you want to assume.
• How you are compensated for the electricity generated by your solar PV system where you live.